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    B2 - Bilingual People

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    Florencia Sanseau
    The document discusses bilingualism and multilingualism. It describes a family where each member speaks multiple languages due to their diverse cultural backgrounds and living in different countries. The passage argues that contrary to common myths, bilingualism is actually quite common worldwide and provides cognitive, social, and economic benefits. It notes that while childhood acquisition may lead to better pronunciation, adults can still become fully fluent and accurate second language speakers. The text seeks to dispel the ideas that bilinguals have split identities or are like exotic birds, emphasizing that bilingualism makes one well-rounded with insights into multiple cultures.

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    B2 - Bilingual People

    Uploaded by

    Florencia Sanseau
    53 views2 pages
    The document discusses bilingualism and multilingualism. It describes a family where each member speaks multiple languages due to their diverse cultural backgrounds and living in different countries. The passage argues that contrary to common myths, bilingualism is actually quite common worldwide and provides cognitive, social, and economic benefits. It notes that while childhood acquisition may lead to better pronunciation, adults can still become fully fluent and accurate second language speakers. The text seeks to dispel the ideas that bilinguals have split identities or are like exotic birds, emphasizing that bilingualism makes one well-rounded with insights into multiple cultures.

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    The document discusses bilingualism and multilingualism. It describes a family where each member speaks multiple languages due to their diverse cultural backgrounds and living in different countries. The passage argues that contrary to common myths, bilingualism is actually quite common worldwide and provides cognitive, social, and economic benefits. It notes that while childhood acquisition may lead to better pronunciation, adults can still become fully fluent and accurate second language speakers. The text seeks to dispel the ideas that bilinguals have split identities or are like exotic birds, emphasizing that bilingualism makes one well-rounded with insights into multiple cultures.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    53 views2 pages

    B2 - Bilingual People

    Uploaded by

    Florencia Sanseau
    The document discusses bilingualism and multilingualism. It describes a family where each member speaks multiple languages due to their diverse cultural backgrounds and living in different countries. The passage argues that contrary to common myths, bilingualism is actually quite common worldwide and provides cognitive, social, and economic benefits. It notes that while childhood acquisition may lead to better pronunciation, adults can still become fully fluent and accurate second language speakers. The text seeks to dispel the ideas that bilinguals have split identities or are like exotic birds, emphasizing that bilingualism makes one well-rounded with insights into multiple cultures.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Level: B2

    BILINGUAL PEOPLE
    PREPARATION TASK
    DISCUSS
    1. Why are you learning English?
    2. Do you speak any languages apart from your mother tongue and English?
    3. Which is more important to you when you learn to speak a language: fluency or accuracy?
    4. Which skill is the hardest for you: speaking, listening, reading, or writing? Which is the easiest?
    5. What do you think are the benefits of speaking a second language?

    READING
    BILINGUALS: EXOTIC BIRDS OR EVERYDAY PEOPLE
    Grandpa shouts. "Dinner's ready" in Danish. My mother asks me in English to lay the table. As I do so, I
    catch the theme tune of the Brazilian soap opera on TV in the living room. where my sister is relaxing.
    She speaks perfect Portuguese. My father asks her to record the programme in his native Spanish, and
    we take our place at the table. And what's on the menu? Italian meatballs.

    We know we aren't a normal family. At any moment, you might hear conversations in four different
    languages, and aImost everyone understands almost everything. But what is normal these days? My
    mother is half Danish, half-English, and my father, who is from Bolivia speaks Spanish and Guarani.
    Because of my mother's work (she's now retired) we lived in Brazil, Italy and Germany, so we picked
    up three more languages. Now as adults, my sister and I both speak six languages.

    Being bilingual. or in our case multilingual, has so many advantages. All the recent research suggests
    we benefit in many ways: social, cultural, economic, academic, and intellectual. The research has also
    destroyed some of those persistent myths.

    One of the myths is that bilingualism is uncommon. As if we bilinguals are like rare, exotic birds. The
    truth is that around fifty percent of the world's inhabitants are bilingual. The continent with the most
    linguistic diversity are Asia and Africa. In Nigeria alone, 500 languages are spoken, in India 400.

    Some people believe that you have to learn both languages as a child to be truly bilingual. My sister
    and l are fortunate in this respect, but we know countless people who have mastered a second
    language as adults. They may not have such perfect pronunciation as those who acquire their second
    language as children, but they are still completely fluent and accurate.

    Another myth about bilinguals concern identity. Some people think we have split personalities. As
    kids. my sister and I were often asked "But where are you really from? Don't you get confused?" Not at
    all. I am me, the product of many cultures. I can switch language· easily, according to where I am and
    who I'm with, and this seems completely natural to me.
    Level: B2

    As for the benefits. bilinguals do better on certain tests, are better protected against mental illnesses
    such as Alzheimer's. gain insights into other cultures. Have access lo more of the world's information,
    and are in some contexts more employable. Being bilingual has made me who I am, and for that I'm
    grateful.

    TASKS
    1. UNDERLINE WORDS OR PHRASES IN THE TEXT THAT MATCH MEANINGS 1- 6 BELOW.
    1. relating to the language you grew up speaking (paragraph 1)

    2. learnt by listening / watching other people (paragraph 2)

    3. speaking many languages (paragraph 3)

    4. false ideas that people continue to believe and repeat (paragraph 3)

    5. learn without needing to try hard, e.g., a language (paragraph 5)

    6. understand important truths about a subject (paragraph 7)

    2. DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS


    1. Do you agree with the writer's list of the advantages to being bilingual?

    2. Do you think there any disadvantages to being bilingual?

    3. Do you know any families that are bilingual or multilingual? Are they similar to the family in the
    text?

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